Chinese reporter dies 10 days after being beaten

New York, December 28,
2010--The death of Sun Hongjie, a senior reporter at the Northern Xinjiang Morning Post, must be
fully investigated by regional authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region and by central authorities in Beijing, the Committee to Protect
Journalists said today. Sun died in a hospital in Kuitun today, 10 days after being
beaten by several men at a construction site, international news reports said.

At least six young men attacked Sun at the Kuitin
construction site, where the reporter had gone to meet a source, according
to international news reports. Authorities dismissed journalism-related motives
last week, saying the attack stemmed from an online dispute involving a social
media acquaintance of Sun.

The official account, carried widely in state-sanctioned media,
was greeted with skepticism in unofficial online media. Colleagues said Sun often
wrote stories critical of the local government, including recent reporting on
the demolition of a factory to make way for housing for local party leaders,
according to local and international reports.

"Until there is a full, independent investigation, the
official explanation of Sun Hongjie's brutal death must be treated with a great
deal of skepticism," said Bob Dietz,
CPJ's Asia program coordinator.